Created In The Image Of God

Soooo, I'm back from New Zealand; the birth place of many "Australian" movie stars and the alleged creators of the good old Australian Pavlova.

The trip was absolutely awesome, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say everyone had a great time and that we have all made friendships that will last forever!!

While I was in New Zealand I had the privilege of preaching at the Manukau Salvos. I spoke on the concept of being created in the image of God as is found in Genesis 1.

As I looked at this passage I saw 4 things that speak to being created in God's image.

First, I saw in this passage that we are each created. God actually took the time and deliberately made us. If God has created us this means that we are intimately known by God, check out Jeremiah 1:5. If God has taken the time to create us it means that we are no cosmic accident and that there must be some reason for our creation. This feeds into my second point

Second, I saw that we are created on purpose for a purpose. Have a look at the creation story in Genesis. Creation was deliberate and ordered, first cam night and day, then sky then land and sea, then the plants, the the sun and moon and stars, then came the sea creatures then animals and birds and finally, after all of this had been put in place came Humans. As I look at this I see that God was preparing creation for humanity, everything necessary for supporting life was put into place before God created us. As far as being created for a purpose, look at Genesis 1: . As I look at this passage I see that as humans we are tasked with taking care of the planet. But perhaps this is not the primary reason for creation. As I read the bible I am convinced that the true reason for our creation is to be in relationship with God. Read Joshua 24: 14 - 15, here we see God reaching out to the nation of Israel and calling them to choose life in relationship with Him. Our primary purpose in life should be to be in relationship with our creator.

Third, I see that we are created in the image of God. Each and every one of us have the potential to share the characteristics of God, characteristics such as justice, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and most importantly; LOVE!!! But, while we have the potential and capacity to share the characteristics of God, we also have the opportunity to reject these characteristics and choose other characteristics such as hate, greed, malice, and selfishness; characteristics that are in sharp contrast with those of God. These characteristics can also have a significant effect on how we see others. If we adopt the character of God, we will begin to see others as being created in His image also. Read Matthew 25: 34 - 40, you can see here that Jesus is calling us to see each and every person as being created in the image of God. As I read the gospels I see many circumstances where Jesus saw people created in the image of His Father and treated them accordingly; there was the Samaritan woman, the Woman caught in adultery, the blind man, the paralytic lowered through the roof, the lame man near the pool and many, many more. In each of these circumstances Jesus saw the image of God in these people and treated them accordingly. Perhaps there is much we can learn from this??

The fourth thing that I noticed was that it is only after humans were created that God says that creation is very good, perhaps it is not too big a stretch to say that we are each very good.

Because of these 4 factors; that we are Created, On Purpose, For a Purpose, In the Image Of God, and that God sees us as being Very Good, is it too much to believe that we are each infinitely valuable in the eyes of God?

Look at John 3:16, it clearly states how valuable we are to God. We are so valuable to God that He became human and then died on the cross in one of the most excruciating deaths imaginable. Look at Acts 2 and 1st Corinthians 6:19, we are so valuable that God has chose us to be His temple, the place where He chooses to live.

Remember, in the Old Testament, God commanded that the Hebrew people create a giant tent where Gods presence could dwell among the people in a tangible sense. Then after the establishment of the nation of Israel God commanded Solomon to build the Temple as a place for Him to live among the people. But as the bible reminds us, the people of Israel abandoned God and as a result God's presence left the Temple, although God was never far away from those who would seek Him (check out Jeremiah 29: 12 - 13). But then in Acts 2, God's Spirit descends and dwells in the hearts of the Disciples and others as the Disciples spread the gospel. Surely, if God has chosen us over some ornate building, then we all must be of more value to God than most of us comprehend.

So I encourage you to see those around you as beings created in the image of the Creator. See their value, see your value and live lives as beings of infinite value to God!!!

UN4SAKEN

Only 6 more sleeps until I leave for New Zealand!!!

As I sit in my office and try to figure out when I can take my holidays this year, I see all of the events that are planned for this year. Summer Celebration is on again an will be held regionally in Torquay, Warrnambool and Kaniva. Fun for all of the family with some unique activities to be held at each event. Some of these activities are yet to be announced, but I can reveal that the innaugural Matthew 14:29 challenge will be held in Kaniva this year!! The basic idea of the Matthew 14:29 cahllenge is this: Each corps is to come to Summer Celebration at the Kaniva pool equipped with their device that will enable them to be like Peter in Matt. 14:29 and walk upon the water. The winner will be the person with the most 'faith', that is the person able to walk the farthest distance on the water down the pool. Competitiors will be considered 'sinking' when the water reaches a point above their knees or when their faith based walking appartus touches the bottom to the pool, or they require assistance from Jesus or any other form of rescue. Anybody who can make it the entire distance walking on the water from deep end to shallow end will win the opportunity to throw their much beloved DY, fully uniformed (Hat, Jacket, Shirt, Tie, Pants and Shoes), into the pool.

Challenges for the remaining Summer Celebrations are in their early formulative stages and more info will be out soon!!

Easter comes early this year, and that means that there isnt long to go until easter Camp is here also. The theme for this year is UN4SAKEN, and reminds us of Jesus' cry from the cross: "My god, my God, why have you forsaken me?" But also reminds us of the fact that God has promised to never leave or forsake us. Check out Psalm 22 when have the chance, the first line of the psalm is "My God, my God, why have you forskaen me?" But as you read on, something changes and towards the end we see that; "The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD..."

Sometimes, even when it feels like God isn't present or is a long way off, we need to remember that He is always with us, even if we cant feel His presence, and that even the poor in spirit will inherit the Kingdom of God!!

Something to think about before camp maybe??

God Is Nothing Like Santa

Well, today is my first official day back in the office for 2008.

Over the last few weeks I have been lucky enough to take some time off and spend it generally relaxing and doing very little. During this time a thought occured to me, I began thinking about how so many people see God as a Santa like figure.

As tradition goes, Santa is a jolly fat old man with a big white beard. Tradition also holds that Santa "... is making a list and checking it twice..." and is going to "...find out if you're naughty or nice." And it is based on this assessment of behaviour over the preceeding 12 months and your status on the 'Naughty' or 'Nice' lists that determines your suitability for presents at the coming Christmas delivery.

As I thought about this I realised that many people often view God as a Santa like figure. People see God as having a naughty and nice list that determines our rewards not only in eternity but also in this life.

People see God as the big bloke who brings you good stuff if you ask him and behave well enough to deserve what ever it is you're currently chasing after. But I'm not too sure that that is really the God that I know.

The God I know doesnt give out gifts based on worthiness, because if that were the case, we would all have nothing.

The God I know gives out gifts based on Love. God loves all of us, irrespective of whether we love, hate, or ignore Him, and because of this He has given us some of the greatest gifts anyone could ever offer. God has given us life, the first and possibly greatest gift we may ever receive. After that God gives us the gift of His Son Jesus. Through the gift of Jesus we receive further gifts of forgiveness and redemption. And from this point the gifts continue to grow and multiply. And the good news; the gifts of life, forgiveness and redemption are guaranteed to all of us, its just up to us to accept them!!

God has no list of naughty or nice, His love and gifts are not conditional on our listed status, and He actually forgets the 'naughty' stuff we do the moment we ask Him to.

So God is no Santa, but thats a good thing.

Who do you put your hope in; God or a fat jolly bloke with a long list??